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I n s t i t u t e
Thickness Definitions
There are a number of terms used for sheet steel products
that need to be explained because they will affect the
thickness of product that could be delivered to the job site.
Nominal Thickness: When sheet steel is produced by the
steel companies it is manufactured to a target or nominal
thickness. As with all manufacturing processes, variations in
the final thickness of the sheet are unavoidable. However,
the thickness is controlled very tightly to ensure that it does
not fall below the minimum thickness (as described below).
Base Steel Thickness: The thickness of the sheet steel material
without any coatings.
8
10
12
13
14
15
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
29
30
inches
0.1562
0.1278
0.0994
0.0852
0.0710
0.0639
0.0568
0.0454
0.0341
0.0284
0.0227
0.0170
0.0142
0.0128
0.0114
mm
3.967
3.245
2.524
2.164
1.802
1.624
1.443
1.153
0.866
0.721
0.577
0.432
0.359
0.326
0.290
Design Thickness
(Nominal Base
Steel Thickness)
inches
0.1644
0.1345
0.1046
0.0897
0.0747
0.0673
0.0598
0.0478
0.0359
0.0299
0.0239
0.0179
0.0149
0.0135
0.0120
mm
4.176
3.416
2.657
2.278
1.897
1.709
1.519
1.214
0.912
0.759
0.607
0.455
0.378
0.343
0.305
C a n a d i a n
S h e e t
S t e e l
Minimum
Thickness
(inches)
Coating
Designation
Minimum
Thickness
(mm)
A01
A25
G01
G60
G90
AZ50
AZ55
AZ60
0.0004
0.0007
0.0004
0.0010
0.0015
0.0016
0.0018
0.0020
ZF001
ZF75
Z001
Z180
Z275
AZM150
AZM165
AZM180
0.010
0.018
0.010
0.025
0.038
0.041
0.046
0.051
Note: Minimum metallic coating thicknesses are total for both sides based
on Triple Spot Test per ASTM A653.
Nominal Thickness(1)
inches
0.001
0.001
0.002
0.004
0.008
0.012
0.0003
mm
0.025
0.025
0.051
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.008
B u i l d i n g
I n s t i t u t e
20
22
24
26
28
29
30
inches
0.0341
0.0284
0.0227
0.0170
0.0142
0.0128
0.0114
mm
0.866
0.721
0.577
0.432
0.359
0.326
0.290
Minimum Coated
Steel Thickness(2)
mm
0.939
0.794
0.650
0.505
0.432
0.399
0.363
inches
0.0369
0.0312
0.0255
0.0198
0.0170
0.0156
0.0142
(1) The sheet has a G90 (Z275) zinc coating (0.0015 in./0.040 mm), an
8000+ Series paint coating on the finish side (0.001 in./0.025 mm)
and a wash coat on the reverse side (0.0003 in./0.008 mm).
(2) Nominal paint thicknesses were used to calculate the overall
minimum coated steel thicknesses.
Starting in June 2004, Canada will join the United States and adopt
a common set of standard base steel thicknesses for lightweight
steel framing components (e.g. studs and joists). These gauges are
unique to this industry and are shown in Table 5. The CSA-S1362007 maximum under-tolerance also applies to these gauges as well
as does the metallic coating allowances listed in Table 2.
(mils)(2)
18
30
33
43
54
68
97
118
(in.)
0.0179
0.0296
0.0329
0.0428
0.0538
0.0677
0.0966
0.1180
(mm)
0.455
0.752
0.836
1.087
1.367
1.720
2.454
2.997
Design
Thickness
(in.)
0.0188
0.0312
0.0346
0.0451
0.0566
0.0713
0.1017
0.1242
Steel Framing
Gauge No. (for
reference only)
(mm)
0.478
25
0.792 20 Drywall
0.879 20 Structural
1.146
18
1.438
16
1.811
14
2.583
12
3.155
10
(1) Minimum thickness represents 95% of the design thickness. Metric (mm)
minimum thicknesses were calculated by converting the Imperial (in.) values.
(2) A mil is 1/1000 of an inch (e.g. 30 mils is 0.030 inches).
Conclusion
An important thing to remember about gauge numbers is that
they do not refer to only one thickness but instead represent a
range of thicknesses within the allowable tolerances, or to
different thicknesses for different products. Gauge numbers are
not regulated and are generally used for convenience in sales
literature. Decimal thickness is required for structural design
and material ordering. The steel industry encourages everyone
to use decimal thicknesses in specifying sheet steel products
and avoid the potential problems inherent with gauges.
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